Wednesday, 2 September 2009

The streets of St Jean de Luz were filled with excited children this morning as they ran helter skelter on their way back to school. I never remember being that excited when the summer holidays were over. Perhaps they get cakes and treats on their first day. With the start of term town has resumed it's normal local buzz. The cafes are full of chattering chaps (who should probably be working) and the streets are filled by huddles of ladies exchanging holiday stories.

I could tell it was business as usual. Whilst out running this morning I came across many people I hadn't seen since the start of summer and greeted 'bonjour' fifteen times before I stopped counting. It was a little sad to watch the children's beach playgrounds being dismantled for another year but seeing so many familiar faces more than made up for it. Lovely. Reaching the top of Sainte Barbe I took some time to simply stare out at sea. The Basque coastline has to be one of the finest anywhere in the world.

Basque Bylines

Traversing the planet is always good for the soul but so is returning home. Following ten months in Outer Mongolia a Scotsman and his wife return from the Steppe. Back in St Jean de Luz the sun still sits high in the sky, Gateau Basque remains as tempting as ever and life in the Basque Country moves forever onwards at its own luxurious pace. Having answered one important question, one remains:

What makes gateau Basque taste so good?

[What made Chinggis Khaan so darned angry? Nothing rhymed with his name which as a budding poet grated heavily and have you ever tried to run the world's greatest ever empire from a ger on the remote Steppe surrounded by camels at -40C?]